Love Island

13. Heart To Heart

Day 9
Couples:
Asher and James
Hannah and Dougie
Jodie and Kyle
Skye and Alex
Violetta and Taylor
Zoe and Sam

I run into the villa in search of Asher, and I try to figure out where she might have gone. I run through the bedroom and make my way to the bathroom but when I realise that she's not there, I go to the walk in wardrobe. I check every single rack of clothes just in case she's hiding amongst a pile of clothes so that nobody can find her; but she's nowhere to be seen. The next place I go to is the rooftop, and as soon as I walk out into the fresh air, I see her sitting there, looking out over the villa. I slowly walk up to her, then take a seat next to her. "I'm so sorry, Asher. You didn't deserve that."

She turns to face me, and as she looks at me, I can't help but focus on the tears running down her face. I know this sounds weird, but I wouldn't class Asher as the crying type. I guess it just goes to show that just because someone may seem tough on the outside, it doesn't necessarily mean that they never feel vulnerable. "Part of me knew that they would say things like that, its no surprise." She sniffles before continuing. "But it still hurts, you know?"

As she says this, it dawns on me that Asher is human too. And this hard exterior is just a way of protecting herself, clearly some arsehole did something bad to hurt her, to mess her up. I place my hand on top of hers, and give her a small smile. "They'll understand, all we have to do is explain to them what's going on."

"They won't listen to me. They hate me." There's a slight pause before she finishes her sentence. "Everyone hates me."

"I don't hate you." I instantly reassure her, and I'm actually being truthful. "I used to hate you, but that was before I got to know the real you. As soon as they see that side of you, they'll love you too. And Taylor could never hate you either, he'll always be by your side."

She wipes away her tears with her free hand, "But I'm scared, Vee, if they see me like this then they'll think they can walk all over me."

"Trust me, I understand, I really do." I tell her, forcing her to look me in the eyes so she knows I'm being sincere. "I don't like people viewing me as weak, and that's why I ran away when I starting crying after you exposed my little secret." I can tell she's about to try and apologise, but I carry on talking so that she doesn't get the chance. "But James made me realise that crying isn't a sign of weakness; it's proof that you've been trying too hard, for too long, to be strong. It's okay to let people in, because we can help you." She doesn't say anything, she just bites her lip in thought. And I feel like a horrible person for asking this, but I know I have to. "Asher?" I start, wondering if this is a good idea. But I go along with it anyway. "What happened?"

"What do you mean?" She questions, seeming utterly confused by what I'm asking her.

"What happened with the guy that broke your heart?" I ask her, and she seems pretty surprised. And I'm not at all shocked by her response, I know that I'm crossing the line here. "I'm guessing that he did something pretty horrible to make you be like this."

It's silent for a moment, and I'm not sure whether she's going to slap me in the face or burst out crying. But instead she squeezes my hand tighter, her voice shaky as she replies. "He gave me a way of escaping from the world, because my house was a nightmare. My dad was always drunk, and my mum was always bruised; I thought my ex was helping me, but he was using me, taking advantage of me." She takes a deep breath, and I can feel her hand shaking underneath mine. "So now I've learnt to hurt others first before they get the chance to hurt me. I built walls around my heart to protect it because of him."

"That's why you acted the way you did with me?" I ask, already knowing the answer. "Because you thought I'd end up hurting you."

"But then I realised that you were the nicest girl ever." She smiles weakly, not convincing in the slightest. And it pains me to see her like this. "And I felt so bad. And I also realised that I wasn't letting Taylor know the real me. I exposed some of the old me to him, but I'm still too scared to let myself love again."

I pull her into a hug, not knowing what else I can do. Then I realise what I can say, and I know it's exactly what she needs to hear. "You just need to think about things from a different perspective." I pull away from the hug so that I can look at her again. "You've been building walls around your heart to keep other people out, like it's some kind of armour. But what if those walls allow you to figure out who cares enough to knock them down?"

A smile forms on her face, and this time it's a genuine smile. She's not smiling through the pain anymore, she's smiling because she's happy. "Taylor cares." She whispers, more to herself than to me. "I want to go see him," She says to me, "You're right. Thank you." She stands up, ready to go downstairs. "How did you get so good at reading people?"

I laugh a little before replying. "It's a little talent of mine, it's like a superpower." We both giggle a little before heading downstairs, arm in arm, then go outside where everyone is gathered around in the kitchen. Well, everyone apart from Zoe, Sam, Skye and Alex. So basically, just the people that I'm actually friends with. "Ready?" I whisper to Asher as we approach them, and she nods in response.

"Guys, I think it's time we explained what's going on." She announces, and everyone looks at her expectantly, waiting for an explanation. "When we realised that Skye was going to pick her couple before Vee, we both knew that she was going to try steal James away from Violetta." She tells them, and I can tell that she's nervous. "So we both decided that I would choose to couple up with James before Skye gets the chance, because I have no interest in trying to get with James. Because I'm unbelievably happy with Taylor."

"And Asher did all this because she's a good friend," I add, wanting everyone to realise that Asher really has turned over a new leaf. "To make up for her antics in the past week, she put our friendship above her relationship. And I really appreciate what she's done, and I think she deserves an apology."

There are murmurs of apologies from everyone, all of them realising that Asher did nothing wrong. But it's James who speaks up the most out of everyone. "Asher, I truly am sorry for what I said. I didn't realise what your intentions were, and now that I do, I feel horrible. I hope you can forgive me."

Asher doesn't say anything, she steps towards James so that they're face to face. And she surprises everyone when she wraps her arms around his neck and hugs him. There's a big smile on my face when they stop hugging, and Asher finally says, "Of course I forgive you."